PRIME Minister Gordon Brown was sweating on a tough night ahead as thousands of voters go to the polls in local council and mayoral elections today.

With the Conservatives riding high in the polls and the row over the scrapping of the 10p tax rate still raging the Labour Party is expected to lose more district councillors.

The nation’s eyes will be on the high profile London Mayoral election where voters have to wait until tomorrow to find out if Labour’s Ken Livingstone has held off the challenge from Tory Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick.

In Birmingham, 40 city council seats are up for grabs, but the ruling Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition is not under threat. The Tories are expected to add to their 43 seats.

Elsewhere in the West Midlands, voters in Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley, Solihull, Redditch, Wolverhampton and Tamworth are also going to the polls.

Birmingham’s faith leaders have today issued a statement urging people to use their vote and to reject the policies of the British National Party and other far right groups.

In a joint statement backed by Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu leaders they said they share a belief that all people are equal.

They said: "Voting for or supporting a political party that offers racist policies is incompatible with a true estimation of humanity. While not endorsing any political party, we encourage all people to vote in the elections as a witness to this and urge them not to vote for candidates who promote racist policies."

Birmingham City Council is broadcasting the results live on the internet, presented by Birmingham Mail columnist Adrian Goldberg.

You can log on to www. birminghammail.net or see tomorrow’s Birmingham Mail for the best reports, pictures and coverage of local election results.